The man in the storm
by shadowrider97
Summary: ONE-SHOT! Ace meets Nojiko while in his travels. Set right after he leaves on his journey.


Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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Nojiko walked down the lane in the heavy rain. It didn't help that all she had on were her sandals, a pair of jeans, and a tank-top. She had been working part time at a bar to help her pay Arlong's tax, so she left late in the night. Now she was in a hurry to get home and out of the cold and wet. Plus, Nami hadn't returned home from her last score, so she was starting to get worried. It's no surprise that she wasn't watching where she was going.

Unfortunately, some thugs didn't either, and they ran right into each other. She looked up to see she had walked right into a fishman. The other two were human, probably hired hands of Arlong, but he wouldn't care if anything happened to them. It was the fishman that would cause problems.

"You got a problem, human?" He asked menacingly, his cronies snickering behind him.

"Sorry," she replied. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"You had better watch it!" He shouted. "The only one of you pathetic humans of any value is Nami, and only barely. If she wasn't drawing maps, she'd be the same as you! I can't wait to see what Arlong does to her afterwards!" The fishman began laughing historically, obviously drunk. Nojiko used every once of her willpower to keep from punching him in the face.

It wasn't enough.

The fishman landed on his butt, a puddle splashing all present. It was silent. "Why you-!" He was back on his feet, leaping forward towards her. He grabbed her and lifted her into the air. He began to pull back his fist and she closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to come.

But it never did.

She cautiously opened an eye. There was the fist, frozen in midair by a hand that had appeared out of nowhere. She followed the arm to see it was connected to a man. He had on a yellow shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal his torso, black shorts and shoes, and an orange cowboy hat with little faces on the front, attached to the band that ran across the top. He hade black hair and eyes with several freckles and a tattoo that read ASCE with the S crossed out on his left arm.

"You know, it isn't good manners to hit a lady, and an unarmed one at that!" The stranger said with a smirk. "I highly recommend you don't"

"Mind your own business, human!" He replied angrily. "I'm a fishman! If you don't let go I'll have to kill you!"

"First assault and now lying? You fishmen are pretty bad guys!" He replied without losing his smirk. "I guess I'll just have to pound you then!"

"That does it!" He dropped Nojiko and tried to take a swing at the stranger, his cronies close behind him.

The fight lasted about a second and a half, half a second each. The stranger just wiped his hands and returned his gaze to the blue-haired girl. "Are you ok, miss?" He asked.

"Ya, I'm fine, thanks," she replied. "I'm Nojiko, and you?"

"The name's Ace, pleasure to meet you!" He replied with a big smile.

"Thanks for that. Can I repay you somehow?" She asked.

"Well a meal and a place to stay for tonight would be nice," he replied without hesitation. "I can't set sail in this storm, so I'm stuck until morning."

"You're a sailor?" She asked. It made sense, seeing as she had never seen the man before and he obviously had no qualms about beating one of Arlong's men.

He smiled in response. "You could say that."

"Well, as a token of my appreciation, you can stay at my house until the storm clears."

"Thank you for your hospitality,"

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The sat at the table, enjoying the warmth of the fire. She had offered the bed, but he claimed that he would be fine on the floor, saying only cryptically that he had slept in worse places. He then ruined the effect by saying that this would be the first of many beautiful women's floors that he would sleep in, earning a punch to the face in the process.

After enduring his sleep issues all throughout dinner, they now were relaxing in chairs making small talk.

"So what was that all about earlier?" Ace asked.

"Some time ago, a pirate named Arlong came in and took over. He and his crew are making everyone pay taxes to them and keeping us all under their thumbs. They've got this thing about fishmen being so much better than humans. Thankfully, my little sister, Nami, made a deal with them. They'll let her buy back our village for 100,000,000 belis. In the meantime, she works as their cartographer. We all want to help her, but she says she needs to do this on her own."

Ace was silent as he regarded her. Finally he spoke. "Do you really think that'll work?"

"It's a business arrangement, and although Arlong is a terrible person, he keeps his promises when it comes to money. No one wants to attack our village because Arlong will crush them if they do."

"It's not that I doubt he will give you back your village, it's that I wonder how long it will last. I mean, what says that he won't just come back the next day and conquer you all over again? Then everything would have been completely pointless!"

"We have no choice!" She replied angrily. "It's our only hope!"

They fell silent, watching each other. Finally he sighed. "Well, if it doesn't work out, I'll leave you with my card before I go." He raised a playing card on explanation. "Call me if you need help." She just smiled in thanks.

"I just wish she would let us help her!" yelled Nojiko. "I mean, she's only a kid! Doesn't she trust us?"

"I don't think it's that she doesnt trust you, it's that she trust you too much," he replied. She raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know what it's like. I have my own little brother. But I also know I have to let him go and do what he knows must be done. I think your sister needs the same thing. She shares a bond with you that can't be broken, and I bet she trusts you completely because of it. But I've seen you fight. You can handle yourself, but that doesn't mean it's your forte. She knows that too, and so she knows if you try and help, you'll get your butt whopped."

She shot him a glare before realizing that he was right.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think she has to handle it all alone," he continued. "The sea is vast, with millions of people in it, and there are five of them! Some day she'll find someone that she cares for as much as you, and that she trusts to help her."

Se sighed. "Let's not talk about this for now. Tell me about your brother."

"Who, Luffy? He's a pain. He eats absolutely everything in sight! And he's a crybaby! But I have to say, I love him more than anything."

She smiled and they continued to talk long into the night.

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Nojiko had no idea when she fell asleep, but she was suddenly awoken by a knocking on her door. She sat up and realized she was in her bed. She couldn't even remember leaving the table. Had Ace don it? She looked around and realized the man was nowhere to be found.

The knock came at the door again. She stood and opened it. There stood Genzo.

"There you are!" He cried. "I heard about the scuffle last night and I came to check on you."

"I'm fine Genzo!" She sighed. "Have you seen Ace? The man who saved me. He was staying here until the storm cleared."

"YOU HAD A MAN STAYING IN YOUR HOUSE OVERNIGHT!" he yelled furiously. She only smacked him. "No. You're the only person I've seen since leaving the village. He may have already left, seeing as the storm cleared around 3 this morning."

She was suddenly seized by fear, though she had no idea why. After all, she had just met the man, she couldn't want him to stay THAT badly, could she? Even so, she found herself sprinting past Genzo and down to the harbor, the world blurring as she ran. When she arrived she scanned the boats that were bobbing gently on the waves.

None of them were unfamiliar. Ace was already gone.

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She sat down sadly, unsure why she felt so terrible at the thought of his leaving. As she slumped down, she felt something touch her arm. She looked up and noticed a playing card lying face down on the table.

Ace's card.

She quickly turned it around to view the face. The card was an Ace of Spades, but it was strange. There were two words, one above and the other below the symbol, that read SPADE PIRATES. The symbol was also weird. It showed a flaming skull and crossbones wearing the man's hat in front of the spade.

Ace was a pirate.

She blinked, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Sure enough, it was still the same. Most people might be repulsed by the notion, insisting that he was evil. But the words that came out of her mouth were not insults.

"There are some great pirates out there after all."


End file.
